Acknowledgement of Country

CSIRO acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land, sea and waters, of the area that we live and work on across Australia. We acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture and pay our respects to their Elders past and present. View our vision towards reconciliation

Child Safety

CSIRO is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people involved in our activities and programs. View our Child Safe Policy.

The Opportunity

• Do you have a PhD in Mathematics, Statistics, Physical Sciences/Engineering, Data Science, or Computer Science/ Engineering?
• Bring your innovation and expertise to this 3-year postdoctoral role where you will solve real world problems in mineral discovery.
• Join the Geosciences Discovery Program Team in Perth!

CSIRO Early Research Career (CERC) Postdoctoral Fellowships provide opportunities to scientists and engineers who have completed their doctorate and have less than three years of relevant postdoctoral work experience. These fellowships aim to develop the next generation of future leaders of the innovation system.

The Discovery Program in CSIRO Mineral Resources understands that the development of mathematical techniques for geoscience applications is essential to enable effective mineral exploration and maximise success in mineral discovery. To this end, our team are aiming to develop innovative methods for quantifying the textural description of rocks. Our team consists of enthusiastic geologists and mathematicians working closely together to solve difficult geological problems.

As the CERC Fellow, you will develop an automated framework to measure different textures from diamond drill core photos using non-linear and complex system methods. The framework will be used to develop a software platform, which will allow geologists to distinguish different types and scales of textures, and to correlate regions with similar texture in different drill holes. The platform will also allow the geologist to integrate textural data with other geological data, such as geochemistry, mineralogy or geophysics. The integration of different data sets is essential to improve discovery rates of new resources of critical minerals and to help source suitable rock reservoirs for permanent carbon locking. These impacts will support a renewable-energy, low-carbon future for Australia.

Your duties will include:

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  • Carrying out innovative, impactful research of strategic importance to CSIRO that will, where possible, lead to novel and important scientific outcomes.
  • Reviewing literature to identify existing texture quantification algorithms that can be implemented in code and tested and improved. As well as developing novel algorithms for practical application of texture quantification.
  • Using CSIRO’s drill core research laboratory to collect drill core photos and evaluate their suitability for this research.
  • Producing high quality scientific papers suitable for publication in quality journals, for client reports, conference presentations, and granting of patents.

Location: Kensington, WA

Salary: AU$92k - AU$101k plus up to 15.4% superannuation

Tenure: Specified term of 3 years

Reference: 93675

To be considered you will need:

• A doctorate (or will shortly satisfy the requirements of a PhD) in a relevant discipline area, such as Mathematics, Statistics, Physical Sciences/Engineering, Data Science, or Computer Science/ Engineering.  Please note: To be eligible for this role you must have no more than 3 years (or full-time equivalent) of postdoctoral research experience.
• Demonstrated expertise in statistical learning, data science, or machine learning.
• Demonstrated coding skills (e.g. python, R, Matlab, or Julia), which the candidate has used to implement theoretical algorithms as functioning scripts.
• Experience in analysing datasets in applied science.

For full details about this role please view the Position Description

Eligibility

Appointment to this role is subject to provision of a national police check and may be subject to other security/medical/character requirements.

Candidates will be expected to commence employment by 31 January 2024.

Flexible Working Arrangements

We work flexibly at CSIRO, offering a range of options for how, when and where you work. 

Diversity and Inclusion

We are working hard to recruit people representing the diversity across our society, and ensure that all our people feel supported to do their best work and feel empowered to let their ideas flourish. 

About CSIRO

At CSIRO Australia's national science agency, we solve the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology. We put the safety and wellbeing of our people above all else and earn trust everywhere because we only deal in facts. We collaborate widely and generously and deliver solutions with real impact. 

CSIRO is committed to values-based leadership to inspire performance and unlock the potential of our people.

CSIRO is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people involved in our activities and programs, whether we are undertaking research, engaging with the public or nurturing future scientists in person or online. Source – CSIRO Child Safe policy 2023

Join us and start creating tomorrow today!

How to Apply

Please apply on-line and provide a cover letter and CV that best demonstrate your motivation and ability to meet the requirements of this role.

Applications Close

31 August 2023, 11:00pm AEST